Editing Politics of Antigua and Barbuda

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{{Politics of Antigua and Barbuda}}
The '''politics of Antigua and Barbuda''' takes place in a framework of a [[Unitary state|unitary]] [[parliamentary system|parliamentary]] [[representative democracy|representative democratic]] monarchy, wherein the [[Monarchy in Antigua and Barbuda|sovereign of Antigua and Barbuda]] is the [[head of state]], appointing a [[List of Governors-General of Antigua and Barbuda|governor-general]] to act as [[Viceroy|vice-regal]] representative in the nation. A [[List of Prime Ministers of Antigua and Barbuda|prime minister]] is appointed by the governor-general as the [[head of government]], and of a [[multi-party system]]; the prime minister advises the governor-general on the appointment of a [[Council of Ministers]]. [[Executive power]] is exercised by the government. [[Legislative power]] is vested in both the government and the two chambers of the [[Parliament of Antigua and Barbuda|Parliament]]. The [[bicameral]] Parliament consists of the [[Senate (Antigua and Barbuda)|Senate]] (seventeen-member body appointed by the governor-general) and the [[House of Representatives (Antigua and Barbuda)|House of Representatives]] (seventeen seats; members are elected by [[proportional representation]] to serve five-year terms).

Antigua and Barbuda has a long history of peaceful changes of government. Since the [[Antigua and Barbuda general election, 1951|1951 general election]], the party system has been dominated by the [[Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party]] (ABLP), for a long time was dominated by the Bird family, particularly Prime Ministers [[Vere Bird|Vere]] and [[Lester Bird]]. The opposition claimed to be disadvantaged by the ABLP's longstanding monopoly on patronage and its control of the media, especially in the [[Antigua and Barbuda general election, 1999|1999 general election]]. The opposition [[United Progressive Party]] (UPP) won the [[2004 Antiguan general election|2004 election]], and its leader [[Baldwin Spencer (politician)|Winston Baldwin Spencer]] was [[Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda|prime minister of Antigua and Barbuda]] from 2004 to 2014.<ref>{{cite web |title=Caribbean Elections Biography {{!}} Winston Baldwin Spencer |url=http://www.caribbeanelections.com/knowledge/biography/bios/spencer_baldwin.asp |website=www.caribbeanelections.com}}</ref>

The [[2014 Antiguan general election|elections]] to the House of Representatives were held on 12 June 2014. The Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party government was elected with fourteen seats. The United Progressive Party had three seats in the House of Representatives.<ref>{{cite web |title=IFES Election Guide {{!}} Elections: Antigua and Barbuda House of Representatives 2014 |url=https://www.electionguide.org/elections/id/2469/ |website=www.electionguide.org}}</ref> ABLP won 15 of the 17 seats in the [[2018 Antiguan general election|2018 snap election]] under the leadership of incumbent Prime Minister [[Gaston Browne]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Speculation about early election in Antigua |url=https://barbadostoday.bb/2021/06/12/speculation-about-early-election-in-antigua/ |work=Barbados Today |date=12 June 2021}}</ref>

Constitutional safeguards include [[freedom of speech]], [[Freedom of the press|press]], [[Freedom of religion|worship]], [[Freedom of movement|movement]], and [[Freedom of association|association]]. Antigua and Barbuda is a member of the eastern Caribbean court system. The [[Judiciary of Antigua and Barbuda|Judiciary]] is independent of the executive and the legislature. Jurisprudence is based on [[English law#Common law|English common law]].

==Executive branch==
{{Main articles|Government of Antigua and Barbuda}}

=== Executive branch leadership ===
As head of state, [[Charles III|King Charles III]] is represented in [[Antigua and Barbuda]] by a [[Governor-General of Antigua and Barbuda|governor-general]] who acts on the advice of the prime minister and the cabinet.<ref>{{cite web |title=Antigua and Barbuda Country Profile |url=http://www.caribbeanelections.com/ag/education/country_profile.asp |website=www.caribbeanelections.com}}</ref>

{{multiple image
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| header            = Main office-holders
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| image1            = King Charles III (July 2023).jpg
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| caption1          = The [[Monarchy of Antigua and Barbuda|King of Antigua and Barbuda]]:<br />'''[[Charles III]]'''<br />since<br />{{nowrap|8 September 2022}}
| image2            = Official portrait of Rodney Williams (cropped).png
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| caption2          = The [[Governor-General of Antigua and Barbuda]]:<br />'''[[Rodney Williams (governor-general)|Sir Rodney Williams]]'''<br />since<br />{{nowrap|14 August 2014}}
| image3            = Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting - 2018 (40666408505) (cropped).jpg
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| caption3          = The [[Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda]]:<br />'''[[Gaston Browne]]'''<br />since<br />{{nowrap|13 June 2014}}
}}

==Legislative branch==
{{Main articles|Parliament of Antigua and Barbuda}}
[[File:Parliament of Antigua and Barbuda.JPG|250px|thumbnail|left|The parliament building in St. John's.]]
Antigua and Barbuda elects on national level a legislature. [[Parliament of Antigua and Barbuda|Parliament]] has two [[bicameralism|chambers]]. The [[House of Representatives of Antigua and Barbuda|House of Representatives]] has 19 members: 17 members elected for a five-year term in [[single-seat constituencies]], and 2 [[ex officio members]] (president and speaker). The [[Senate of Antigua and Barbuda|Senate]] has 17 appointed members. The prime minister is the leader of the majority party in the House and conducts affairs of state with the cabinet. The prime minister and the cabinet are responsible to the Parliament. Elections must be held at least every five years but may be called by the prime minister at any time.

There are special legislative provisions to account for [[Barbuda]]'s low population relative to that of [[Antigua]]. Barbuda is guaranteed one member of the House of Representatives and two members of the Senate. In addition, there is a [[Barbuda Council]] to govern the internal affairs of the island.

==Political parties and elections==
{{Elect|List of political parties in Antigua and Barbuda|Elections in Antigua and Barbuda}}

==Administrative divisions==
{{Main articles|Parishes and dependencies of Antigua and Barbuda}}
[[File:Antigua parishes english.png|thumb|Map of Antigua's six parishes]]

The country is divided into six parishes, [[Saint George Parish, Antigua and Barbuda|Saint George]], [[Saint John Parish, Antigua and Barbuda|John]], [[Saint Mary Parish, Antigua and Barbuda|Mary]], [[Saint Paul Parish, Antigua and Barbuda|Paul]], [[Saint Peter Parish, Antigua and Barbuda|Peter]], and [[Saint Philip Parish, Antigua and Barbuda|Phillip]] which are all on the island of Antigua. Additionally, the islands of Barbuda and [[Redonda]] are considered dependencies.

==Judicial branch==
{{Main articles|Judiciary of Antigua and Barbuda}}
Antigua and Barbuda is a member of the [[Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court]]. This court is headquartered in Saint Lucia, but at least one judge of the Supreme Court resides in Antigua and Barbuda, and presides over the [[Antigua and Barbuda High Court|High Court]]. The current High Court judges are [[Nicola Petra Byer|Nicola Byer]], [[Ann-Marie Smith]], [[Jan Drysdale]], [[Rene Williams]], and [[Tunde Ademola Bakre|Tunde Bakre]] as of September 2024.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court |url=https://www.eccourts.org/judicial-officers/high-court-judges |access-date=2024-09-09 |website=www.eccourts.org |language=en}}</ref>

Antigua is also a member of the [[Caribbean Court of Justice]], although it has not yet acceded to Part III of the 2001 Agreement Establishing a Caribbean Court of Justice.<ref name="Agreement Establishing a Caribbean Court of Justice">[http://www.caricom.org/jsp/secretariat/legal_instruments/agreement_ccj.pdf Agreement Establishing a Caribbean Court of Justice] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101214032059/http://caricom.org/jsp/secretariat/legal_instruments/agreement_ccj.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://caricom.org/jsp/secretariat/legal_instruments/agreement_ccj.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |date=14 December 2010 }}, available here.</ref> Its supreme [[appellate court]] therefore remains the British [[Judicial Committee of the Privy Council]]. Indeed, of the signatories to the Agreement,<ref name="Agreement Establishing a Caribbean Court of Justice" /> as of December 2010, only Barbados has replaced appeals to Her Majesty in Council with the Caribbean Court of Justice.

In addition to the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, Antigua and Barbuda has a Magistrates' Court, which deals with lesser civil and criminal cases.<ref name="Antiguan and Barbudan criminal court system">{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20110724223214/http://www.acclawyers.org/resources/antigua-and-barbuda/ Antiguan and Barbudan criminal court system diagram]}}</ref>

== Movements ==

* [[Republicanism in Antigua and Barbuda]]
* [[Federalism in Antigua and Barbuda]]
* [[Barbudan independence movement]]

==Political pressure groups and leaders==

* [[Antigua Trades and Labour Union]]
* People's Democratic Movement

==International organisation participation==

{{unreferenced section|date=May 2015}}

* [[ACP Countries|Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States]]
* [[Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas|ALBA]]
* [[Caricom|Caribbean Community]]
* [[Caribbean Development Bank]]
* [[Community of Latin American and Caribbean States]]
* [[Commonwealth of Nations]]
* [[ECLAC|United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean]]
* [[FAO|Food and Agriculture Organization]]
* [[Group of 77]]
* [[IBRD|International Bank for Reconstruction and Development]]
* [[ICAO|International Civil Aviation Organization]]
* [[International Criminal Court]]
* [[ICFTU|International Confederation of Free Trade Unions]]
* [[International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement]]
* [[IFAD|International Fund for Agricultural Development]]
* [[International Finance Corporation]]
* [[IFRCS|International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies]]
* [[International Labour Organization]]
* [[International Monetary Fund]]
* [[International Maritime Organization]]
* [[Intelsat]] (nonsignatory user)
* [[Interpol (organization)|Interpol]]
* [[IOC|International Olympic Committee]]
* [[ITU|International Telecommunication Union]]
* [[Non-Aligned Movement]] (observer)
* [[Organization of American States]]
* [[OECS|Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States]]
* [[OPANAL]]
* United Nations
* [[UNCTAD|United Nations Conference on Trade and Development]]
* [[UNESCO]]
* [[UPU|Universal Postal Union]]
* [[World Confederation of Labour]]
* [[World Federation of Trade Unions]]
* [[WHO|World Health Organization]]
* [[WMO|World Meteorological Organization]]
* [[WTrO|World Trade Organization]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{Antigua and Barbuda topics}}
{{Americas topic|Politics of}}
{{Authority control}}

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[[Category:Politics of Antigua and Barbuda| ]]